farthingwoodfandomcom-20200213-history
Badger
Badger was the deuteragonist from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park in both the books and the TV series. He was one of the most respected members of the group and often acted as a peacemaker when the other animals argued. He also filled in as leader of the group when Fox goes missing. Badger was the only one of the original characters who definitely appeared in Farthing Wood: The Adventure Begins, although in this book he was known as Young Badger. Although he lived throughout the course of the books, he died of old age during the second series of the TV series. Books The Animals of Farthing Wood In the first book, Badger hosted the assembly of the Farthing Wood animals in his set. He was the one who nominated Fox as the group's leader and was nominated as the group's quartermaster by Fox. This means that he was in charge of finding food for the group, but it soon becomes clear that each group of animals would have to find separate food for themselves. Badger had a very close relationship with Mole, convincing him to join the other animals on their journey and offering to carry him when the other animals said he was too slow. It was Badger who would always feel most concerned when Mole would go missing, looking for worms. Badger protested most against the lizards' decision to stay behind on the army land, and he was the most upset when the fire possibly killed them. Badger became the leader of the group when Fox went missing after being hit by a mass of debris while trying to help the rabbits cross the river. Badger was hit by the debris too as he helped Fox, but he was rescued from some reeds by the other animals. Fox eventually rejoined the group and Badger was relieved of his role as leader. During the animals' stay in the quarry, Badger came up with a song about the group's journey from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park, which he sang to the other animals as they celebrated their escape from the hunt. He included a mention of every member of the group, and added more verses to the song when the animals arrived in White Deer Park. In the Grip of Winter During the animals' first winter in White Deer Park, Badger went in search of The Great Stag to ask his advice about surviving the winter, but the snow causes him to slide into a large rock and he becomes injured. He is found and rescued by The Warden, who cares for Badger in his cottage. Here Badger meets Ginger Cat, who agrees to tell his friends that he is safe. Badger is eventually released and, after seeing how Fox and Vixen are suffering in the cold weather, he suggests that his friends all join him in the Warden's cottage. When they decline, Badger loses his temper with them and returns to the cottage on his own. The Warden feeds him but does not take him back in, so he is forced to return to his set. When Ginger Cat attacks Kestrel, Badger steps in and fights him off, but stops short of killing his new friend. After returning to his friends, Badger comes to his senses and abandons his plan to live with the Warden. Instead, he comes up with a plan to raid a nearby town for food which keeps most of his friends alive through the winter. Badger is part of the sentry which is set up to help Fox carry out his plan to get rid of the poachers, and he runs to the pond to watch the plan unfold. He later finds it amusing that Tawny Owl has not been told to stop collecting food from the town, but soon regrets it when Owl gets angry and flies away from the park. Fox's Feud Badger is one of the first animals to see Fox and Vixen's newly born cubs, having been told of their birth by Mole. When Bold goes missing and his family goes to search for him, Badger leads the group of animals who follow the foxes to give them backup if necessary. When Bold returns unharmed, Badger goes alone to give support to Fox on Scarface's territory, but luckily The Great Stag had already diffused the situation. When the feud with Scarface has come to an end, Badger is introduced to Mole's new mate - Mateless - and decides she needs a new, more suitable name. Mateless asks Badger to think of a name for her and he gives her the name of Mirthful. The Siege of White Deer Park By this point in the series, Badger has become very old and very feeble, and never strays far from his own set. Early in the book, Mossy, the son of the now deceased Mole, inadvertently arrives at Badger’s set and Badger mistakes him for his old friend. Mossy tries to convince Badger that he is not Mole, but Badger refuses to listen and continues to believe that Mossy is really his late father. The rest of the Farthing Wood animals agree to pretend that he really is Mole in order to make Badger happy. When the animals become aware of the threat from a dangerous new creature, Badger is the first to suggest that it could be a cat, as the stealthy nature of said animal reminds of Ginger Cat. Following the capture of Husky by The Beast, Badger sets out to offer himself in the young fox’s place, but he arrives too late to save him. After this, Badger tells the other foxes that the group should wage a war against the Beast, but the animals could find no way to rid themselves of it. When Adder tells the other animals that the Beast may be living underground, Mossy tells Badger of a hole that was discovered by his mother that could be the home of the Cat. Badger tells Mossy to find the chamber, and then report back to him so that he can go and see the Beast and force it to leave as part of its agreement with Tawny Owl. After Mossy has left, Badger hears the Cat’s call and goes to investigate and sees it digging for his friend. He confronts the Beast and tells it to take him instead of Mossy, but then a call comes from a female cat and the Beast flees from the park, leaving Badger and the others in peace for the upcoming winter, and Badger wonders whether it will be his last. In the Path of the Storm Following the death of the Great Stag, Badger is the first of the Farthing Wood creatures to be told of the tragedy by Whistler. Later Badger travels to the stream to drink, despite the other animals avoiding it since the deaths that have occurred there. He meets a rabbit drinking from the stream and takes a few laps himself, but then the rabbit starts to get a tickle and then a burning in his throat before finally dropping dead. Badger rushes to the pond to drink some clean water, but Trey is there and orders him to stop drinking. Badger continues to drink and tries to reason with Trey, but the stag doesn’t listen and butts him into the pond with his antlers. Luckily, Plucky intervenes by biting Trey’s leg and prevents him from butting Badger with his full force. Plucky heads off Trey while Badger heads for a deserted set, but then he helps Plucky escape by biting into the stag’s leg. Badger’s old friends all gather to see him and he eventually recovers after making them all promise not to drink from the stream. When the other animals decide to defy Trey by drinking from the pond together, Badger is left behind, but he refuses to be left out and heads off after them. When he is about half way between his set and the pond, a hurricane breaks out and Badger is forced to sit it out in the open. Badger survives but when he returns to his set he sees that a tree has fallen into it, leaving it completely destroyed and leaving him homeless. Badger searches for a new home and after discovering the old abandoned set is now occupied by a family of badgers, he wanders outside the park’s boundaries in his search. When he discovers he has left White Deer Park, Badger starts to lose his wits and decides to return to Farthing Wood, but he is found by Tawny Owl as the bird makes his return from Farthinghurst. The two old friends return to White Deer Park and Badger is delighted to discover that Fox and his family are building him a new set right next to Fox and Vixen’s home. Battle for the Park After Weasel and Plucky go missing, Badger suggests that Fox sets up a rescue party and vows to be part of it, but Fox decides to put Badger in charge of keeping tabs of the rats instead. When Tawny Owl is suggested for the rescue party, Badger offers to talk to him and convinces him to help with the mission. Later on Badger seeks out Mossy to warn him to be extra cautious and to keep out of sight of the rats. After this Badger takes part in the hunting party to help rid the Hollow of the rat invasion. After the truce is called and the Warden is left to deal with the problem of the rats, Badger struggles to find enough strength to find food. At this point, a sow badger called Frond enters the wood having been driven out of her home by the rats and comes across Badger's set. She asks for shelter and offers to find food and bedding for him. Badger eventually decides to let Frond stay with him, feeling that he would probably need somebody to care for him in his old age. When the final battle against the rats takes place, Badger and Frond both take part in the fight, helping the other animals to rid the park of the threat. Later, when the animals discover that the two reserves have been combined, Frond says how nice it is not to be limited to one area, but Badger says that there is no place better than the Hollow, as it is like a little piece of Farthing Wood. Farthing Wood: The Adventure Begins This book takes place five years before the events of the first book, when Badger was still young and known as Young Badger, although his role in the book is very small; he only appears in certain scenes which feature his father, Kindly Badger, whom Badger mentions early in the first book. TV series Series 1 Badger is the primary narrator to the audience during the first season. His role in the first series is essentially the same as in the first book, but with some minor changes. Badger becomes leader of the group for a second time while the group is in the poisonous fields, when Fox goes missing while scavenging for food in a nearby town. Badger stops the other animals from eating the cabbages in the field, despite some argument from Weasel and the rabbits, before Fox eventually returns. Badger and Weasel later became separated from the main group after fleeing from the church. They run through the town before hiding from the humans in a cellar. Weasel becomes drunk when she drinks from a dripping barrel and annoys Badger by telling him she loves him. The two animals leave the cellar as some humans remove the plank they used to get in and they run through the town again before they are found by Owl. Badger then carries Weasel, who is too drunk to walk properly, back to the main group. Series 2 .]] For the most part, Badger's role in the second series is also the same as in the books, but with a few very significant changes. Mole's death occurs much earlier in the series than in the books and so Badger's relationship with Mossy also starts earlier. Badger's old age is mentioned frequently in the second series, and he falls out with Fox after being called an "old codger". Mossy later finds Badger in his sett rambling about his brothers and sisters in Farthing Wood and informs Fox that he may be dying. Fox, Vixen and Friendly all rush to Badger's sett and Fox apologizes for being unkind to him. Badger peacefully passes away in front of them and several of the animals gather to pay their respects as a large boulder is used to seal off his sett as a tomb. Appearances Books * The Animals of Farthing Wood * In the Grip of Winter *''Fox's Feud'' *''The Siege of White Deer Park'' *''In the Path of the Storm'' *''Battle for the Park'' *''Farthing Wood: The Adventure Begins'' TV series *Series 1 *Series 2 Category:Book characters Category:TV characters Category:Badgers Category:Deceased characters Category:Alive Category:Characters who Died of Old Age Category:Singing Characters Category:Males Category:Characters who Died in Season 2 Category:Elderly Characters Category:Characters who Have a Mate Category:Mammals Category:Heroes Category:Leaders Category:Mates Category:Main Characters Category:Protaginists